Oh Marcia, I am sorry to hear that. I saw on the Weather Channel late last night that there was really nasty stuff moving thru in some areas. Sorry your garden took a hit.

No nasty weather here - just a huge lake in my backyard now, but happy plants!

Funny how we went from "When will it ever rain?" to "When will it stop raining?" in just a few days.

Marcia, I'm sorry to hear that your garden is taking such a beating. We've had rain all day for the past three days and for part of the day for the four days before that. Except for the occasional wind gust and heavier down pour it's fairly consistant but gentle rain fall here.

A couple of the gutters on my house clogged up with leaves and it looks like the one attached to the back porch is pulling away from the house. The front gutter I managed to clear the clog during a break in the rain. A few moderate sized dead branches fell out of my oak tree but they didn't damage anything. Some pots were knocked over by the wind and some of the cages around my gingers blew over but that's about it as far as damage goes. On the other hand my grass finally looks green again and is actually filling in some of the bare spots. The plants in the garden are for the most part looking great although my joey isn't looking so good either.

Kara

Thanks, Ladies! For the most part, Sunday, Monday and yesterday were just steady, reasonably gentle rainfall. More than I needed to have, but not damaging at that point. But last night, boy all H*** broke loose. I was sitting in the dark, no power, listening to the wind howling and the branches crashing down, and thought to myself, "This sounds like the night Charley passed directly overhead!" I know it wasn't really that bad (not quite), but it was definitely more than just a thunderstorm.

I will fix whatever damage it did, I'm sure, but right now, I'm feeling pretty discouraged. And the heavy, leaden, grey skies pushing down on my head doesn't help. Feels like my brain is being squished under extreme barometric pressure. The skies are so low, I could almost touch them. I'm ready for some sunshine again.

Marcia

marcia, how sad. you guys got a lot more wind than we've had here in deland. my poor veg garden, like me, needs some sun and drier air, and my flowers have simply stopped blooming. i had to cancel a fishing trip on friday. but otherwise, no serious damage here.

on the plus side: the st johns up way up--it went from .3 feet to close to 2 feet, and will probably hit four feet before it crests. the mosquito lagoon is way up, too. this florida-wide rain has recharged the aquifer after a dry spring, and it looks to be a wet summer, too.

that's very good news on the macro-florida level. happy wildlife. happy vegetation. few fires.

You are right, Ill-man. In the Grand Scheme Of Things, the water is a good thing. We needed it. I'm trying to keep that thought foremost in my mind when I look at my slammed garden. But it's hard, being as I've been KILLING myself out there for weeks trying to replant a yard that was totally wiped out by the freezes. It feels pretty bad to see all that hard work just slapped flat. I'm in a "Why me?" mode this morning, I guess.

But it will pass. I'll get it cleaned up. I'll replace the damaged plants, yet AGAIN, and things will move forward. And heaven knows, we needed the rain. I hope the aquifer is really showing an improvement, and it's good to hear the water level is up in the rivers.

Question: I had a large trug-style pot sitting empty when the rain started on Sunday. It is now full, to a depth of about 16 inches. Surely that isn't how you determine how much rain has fallen, is it?

Marcia

I was literally about to compose a thank you note for posting pictures of your beautiful garden when I read this post.

I've been a lurker here for a couple of months and have gleaned a wealth of knowledge from so many generous people.

Although it is heart breaking to think about all the hard work you put into your yard having been for nothing, I assure you that is not the case.

For a few moments in time, as I looked at the wonderful things you had done with a few plants and flowers and landscaping, my life was made better. I didn't think about work, the economy, politics, the bank account, the future, the past....only what beauty was in front of me. I called my wife in and we shared in the beauty YOU had created. Just for us.

Thank you for those moments.

w.t.

Ugh! So sorry to hear about your storm damage! As frustrating as it is, you'll have your gardens looking better than ever very soon. Just remind yourself how fast things grow in Florida.

Maybe some of the wind spread some flower or veggie seeds in a new and unique spot that will surprise you later?

Well thank you SO much, W.T. What a nice thing to say, and I am very happy that looking at my pictures was enjoyable for you. ANYTHING to help keep someone's mind off current events has got to be a good thing, right? (Me, I escape either to the garden or to my books...and yes, Felix, I do read things other than just Vampire novels, haha. Though I do confess I love them! Nothing like fictional monsters to keep your mind off the REAL ones!)

I will try to keep your VERY KIND comments in mind as I go about putting things back to rights. It won't take as long as getting over the freeze did, because many of the plants will be growing like mad after the good soaking. I'll just clean up the stuff that got slammed and move forward. All will be well again. Just not today. I'm going to continue to sulk and pout and have a pity party a bit longer.

*grin*

Marcia (hope you will stop lurking now and join in the discussions!)

Marcia, I can sure feel your pain! It's so sad to work as hard as you did and have one badly needed rainfall turn mean. I hope your plants rejuvenate and get lovelier than ever. Why couldn't it just kill the weeds and leave the pretties be?

We got so much rain, but no major disasters. My 65 gallon pond that I had just cleaned and was empty filled back to with about 6 inches from the top. That was my happiest moment.

Ginny

Good points, SPF...I'll keep an eye out for new volunteers. I will lose some things, I know, but other things will be happier. Especially things like the bamboo, the white birds of paradise, and other big plants that hand watering wasn't really helping.

It'll be okay in the long run. Just not today. Grrrrrr....

Marcia

Thanks, Ginibee. I'm glad to hear that most of you didn't have much damage last night. Perhaps the fierce wind was a local thing, although Nicki said it was bad in Leesburg, too. She was glad she had just removed a leaning palm that she figured would have come down in it.

It's so darn grey and HEAVY feeling outside today, I'm having trouble getting myself talked back into a good mood.
I hate that sense of pressure bearing down on me. But that will pass and it will all be good again!

Stay dry!!

Marcia

Marcia, I'm so sorry to hear of your damage. So far on the beach we've received 14.5" of rain, but only my tomatillas have been damaged. I can't even try to help them until the rain stops. Someday. The wind and heavy rain last night caused me to doubt our safety, but drainage here is good. I did go out at 11 pm to move the 14" pot with the key lime. It is on a high stump and with that wind ... it is safe and sound and soggy this morning. I haven't even looked at the Joeys. The frangipani look battered but fine--tropicals think this is normal.

Glad your plants should be okay, beachlily. I'm guessing the daylilies loved it? They don't batter so easily, and they seem to really like lots of water. I've really narrowed down my tropicals since I had so much freeze damage, so there aren't many here to appreciate all this water.

14.5 inches? WOWZER. Maybe the 16" in my trug IS an example of how much we've gotten!! I thought that must surely be wrong, as the news is saying things like 4 to 5 inches, and only in some places. Other spots more like 3 inches. But I swear, last night's deluge was one of the worst I've seen, and I've seen PLENTY. We had horizontal rain! It looked like a major storm system.

Marcia

Marcia, I have never participated in a forum before, but like dubyatee, I too have been observing for several weeks and could not resist the temptation to join. Christine (happy_fl_gardner) told me about GW and I thank her for that.

I can relate to what you're feeling right now. I'm still trying to recover from the hurricanes of '04 and the freezes of this winter. We make our livelihood from cut foliage and after losing 80 trees in the hurricanes, we had to completely change crops in some areas. Therefore, my yard has been totally neglected.

I have been, what I call, reclaiming my yard, but still have a long way to go. Your pictures have been truly inspirational as well as others I have seen on different threads. Your pond, especially, inspired me to redo my pond. It's a lot smaller than yours, but looks a lot better now, after taking ideas from yours.

Please don't despair and know that many, many people are rooting for you.

I heard on the radio that Tavares had a foot of rain, so its entirely possible that's at least how much we've gotten in Lake Mary/Sanford. Last night my roommate was asking who was using the microwave. Turns out the rain was beating so hard on the roof it sounded like the microwave running!

My volunteer scarlet Hibiscus decided to snap off at the ground. Perhaps it was the wind. Or too much water weight on the branches. Or the ground got too moist for its weight. In any event, I'm sure its volunteer children will spring up after it.

Other then that I've been pretty lucky so far. The wind broke a blooming gladiolus though (grrr!!) and forced me to stake the others (in the rain). I need bigger and stronger stakes though. I had to build tripods out of my stakes to hold each one in place since a single one couldn't cut it.

Sorry to hear about your yard.

Sorry to read of your damage. I was Lowe's Monday and saw a couple of Joeys and thought to myself - that's Marcia's plant.

I didn't really get very much wind here, but I don't really have much to damage either since I'm just starting. It's kind of hard to damage a large sand pit or a weed filled yard.

Like w.t., I've loved your pics. In addition, your hardships, whether it be a frost or a strong storm, and the way you come back from them teach me that gardening isn't a guarantee. That plants will die even if I do everything right (unlike my latest kill). And I can come back from that.

*off to do a sun dance*

Marcia, please feel better. I hate to know that my friend is sad. Things will be fine. Your garden will look
drooling beautiful as I have seen it.
We had bad wind here last night and we lost power. We did not get much damage some flowers and foliage were torn,shredded and drooping. Joey was drooping but he will be fine. It is Noisy over here with the frogs and toads
and birds. Smile for me my friend.

Felix

No major damage at my house in De Leon Springs. I thought my melons might burst by now, but nope. I'm sorry to hear that some of us were not so lucky. I did, however have to go without power last night- and this morning.

Okay, I'm smiling now. Through slightly clenched teeth, but still...smiling!! And as soon as I see a PEEK of sunshine again, the smile will get bigger.

In the meantime, I sure do appreciate all the kind words! You have all made me feel better and made me realize that it's all part of the game. Things will come through it all looking better than they did before. And things will succumb to the battering, and will be replaced. That's life in the garden. Me, I'll survive either way. I'm tough! I didn't last THIS long being a wimp, so soon I'll suck it up and move on without whining. But I sure needed to vent, and you guys have really helped me out.

Soil Sister, I'm happy to make your acquaintance, and so sorry to hear of how much you lost from the hurricanes and freezes. Growing things for a living is certainly a more precarious operation than simply doing it for pleasure. You have my very best wishes, both in reclaiming your yard and in your change of crops to get your business back on track. Welcome to the forum, and don't be a stranger. I'm not sure we have any other commercial growers here, and it will be nice to get your perspective on things.

Aloha, if Tavares got a foot of water, then I think we must have gotten the 16" in my trug. That's cumulative, though. It didn't all come down last night. But I swear, the thing was empty on Sunday night. I'm glad your plants are faring well, and I'll bet you will have more hibiscus coccinea soon. Good luck!

Jelly, I'm glad you don't have any damage...even if the wind couldn't much hurt your beginning garden, we had enough branches down here that we could have easily sustained roof damage. We didn't as far as I can tell, but it would not have surprised me. So at least you haven't had that. And I'm smiling to think that you thought of ME when you saw those Joey's. How nice! I hope mine aren't totally dead.

Yeah, gardening is one of those things that is never done. Gardens are living things, constantly changing, growing, dying, being reborn, always on the move. Nothing static about them, so I guess we have to learn to go with the flow, too. If you can't do that, then gardening probably isn't the right hobby for you. And there's an old saying, "It's an ill wind that blows no good," and that's true. Meaning simply, no matter what the winds bring or what damage is wrought, something good will come out of it, as well. Tomorrow, I will know that to be true. Today, I'm still a bit sulky. But who cares? I'll get over it.

Felix, I'm glad you are okay up there. I was thinking about you. I'll be smiling soon. Look...I'm already almost there! Even though...ready for it?...IT IS POURING CATS AND DOGS OUTSIDE EVEN AS I TYPE!!!! I can't even see across the street!!! Arrrgggghhhhhhh.

*me, singing in a little tiny girly voice*

"Rain, rain, go away,
Little Marcia wants to play...."

*grin*

Marcia

Kara, I meant to tell you that I'm sorry you had problems with the guttering, but glad that's all that seems to have been affected. Hopefully, you'll get that sorted out shortly, and with any luck, maybe your plants will be thriving from the extra water. We'll both have to wait to see what Joey does.

Featherhoof, I'm sorry you had such a long loss of power. For me, that is tantamount to catastrophe. Without my a/c, I'm a goner! Hope everything is back to normal and your garden comes through the rest of the rainy days just fine.

Marcia

Marcia
I had no idea that you had to endure such problems in your garden! We had winds and constant rain, but nothing like others who even lost power.

I am so sorry to hear about your losses, but you did said the right words. You will comeback and stronger than ever and your garden will make you smile again!

My best wishes for you.

Silvia

Thank you, Silvia. I'm sure it will all clean up and with a few replacements here and there, it will be looking like nothing ever happened. But boy, the morning light brought a real shock to my eyes!

I'm glad you guys were safe! And I'm very thankful that we had no damage to our house. That's more important than the plants, for sure.

But I wish the rain would stop now, at least for awhile. I'm ready for some sunshine again.

Stay dry over there!

Marcia

Marcia, I'm so sorry for your loss, but I'm sure looking forward to seeing the re-creation of your artwork, each time it's like starting with a new canvas! I don't know about you but I'm definitely suffering from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). We all live here for a reason, right? Give me the SUN!!!!!! I'd never make it in Seattle....

Tom

Tom, I try to avoid being actually IN the sun as much as I can, since I'm always too hot and I've had skin cancer five times. BUT...having said that...having no sunLIGHT is terribly depressing. I'm feeling SAD, myself, even though I know I don't have it to the extent I need treatment for it. But four or five days of unrelenting darkness and grey skies is just too much. I've definitely been feeling depressed.

If last night's storm had happened the FIRST night of the rain, it probably wouldn't have upset me nearly as much.

I was just outside between showers and looking around more closely, and I think MOST things will survive with some damage pruned off, and some cleaning up. Lots of debris removal will be forthcoming, and there are several plants that I don't think will make it. But the yard won't be as barren as it was after the freeze or anything. And the things that didn't get smashed are going to be really green and happy.

It will all end up okay. Just some extra work, and a few replacement plants. Joey still looks like a goner, and I'm seriously worried about my rudbeckia submentosa, which really got flattened. And some of my coleus got broken back to ground level. Those will sprout again, I'm sure. But Joey and the rudbeckia...well, we'll see.

I just can't wait to see a brighter sky. When I was younger, I used to love rainy days and living in the northwest was very appealing. I don't think I could do it now, either. I need me some SUNLIGHT!!!!!

*Tom and Marcia, doing the Sunshine Superman dance, here*

Marcia

Aw, that's so sad! I'm sorry :(
Maybe you'll get some sun soon. Over here toward Tampa we had sunshine for about 20 minutes today. I was so excited! But it is back to dreary and rainy again.

Oh, Marcia, I am sorry to hear of your, hopefully, minor setback. But I have faith that you will not let this stop you and your garden will continue to grow and prosper. I know how hard you have been working and have been enjoying your progress.

We have had a total of 9 inches of rain in my rain gauge since Sunday evening and some gusty winds but nothing to compare with what you got.

Hang in there, My Friend, the sun will shine again!

nova

Congratulations, Crystabel...I haven't seen hide nor hair of the sun since Sunday afternoon. I've seen almost NO time at all when actual RAIN wasn't falling steadily. Today, there were two times when it was only dripping, and I went outside for about 5 minutes, then it started pouring again. Enough, already! Hope you continue to get a bit more sunshine over your way!

Thanks, Nova! I appreciate your kind words, and I'm really glad you haven't had any bad storms up your way. I'd sure hate for you to take any damage on in your pond area. Now that you have decided not to make it a swimming pool, after all, that is! *grin*

Marcia

Dear Marcia,

Did your Koi survive the onslaught of rain?

Peace to you, have a nice cup of tea and relax. Sorry you've been through it and back again. Hang in there, sunshine is coming. You'll catch it!

awww...Marcia!!! after all that work, too.... and now you have MORE work (not the fun kind!) to look forward to. We're okay here...getting lots of much needed rain. So far, no damage. we have had some really gusty winds but nothing that has brought down limbs... Hope your day will be better tomorrow. (at least I'm getting some housework done!)

I won't be complaining any more folks...see my newest post. But thanks so much for all the kind words and support. You guys made me feel so much better!

Marcia